


Powering Down

by disaster_by_chance



Series: Capitalist Kings [4]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, During Canon, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Not A Fix-It, Sam Nook is a robot built by Sam, no beta we die like tommyinnit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29790573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disaster_by_chance/pseuds/disaster_by_chance
Summary: Like a lot of others, Sam Nook is in denial about Tommy's death.
Relationships: Sam Nook & tommyinnit
Series: Capitalist Kings [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166960
Comments: 27
Kudos: 237





	Powering Down

Jack watched the raccoon bot move inside and out of the hotel, carrying chests in his arms as he worked to bring in new materials into the hotel for the next upgrade. 

Part of him didn’t want to say anything, he wanted to let the bot have a reality different from everyone elses’ current reality. Part of him wanted to move on and justify not telling Sam Nook because he was a robot. Why should Jack bother letting him know the terrible news?

But then again, another part of him knew it was stupid. If not, it was selfish, for Jack to withhold this information from the bot. It was just cruel to make him believe something that wasn’t true while he informed everyone else he could about the news of Tommy’s unfortunate death. 

He just hated that it had to be him who gave the news, but he knew no one else would tell him. Though Quackity was close with the bot, it being created by his dad, Jack knew the man would distract himself with work in order to carry on with life like Tommy didn’t die. He knew that like Sam, Quackity would drown himself in work as a distraction from the fact, so he couldn’t count on either of them. 

Ranboo and Tubbo, owners of the Bee n Boo hotel right across couldn’t be of any help either. Both of them were in denial and Jack wasn’t sure if they would ever leave that stage, busy on the hotel and carrying on like Tommy wasn’t gone and would come back. So they couldn’t tell him. 

So, as an employee, Jack figured it was up to him. 

He drew a breath and walked towards the hotel, opening the wooden fence and stepping onto the platform as storm clouds started to roll in. 

Jack glanced up, shivering a bit from the sudden winds that were picking up around him, but grateful for the shade from the sun that had been shining down just moments earlier. 

“JACK MANIFOLD.” 

Sam Nook’s chattering voice brought Jack’s gaze back down on earth where the robot was standing a few feet away from him, a hand on his sword. 

Jack eyed the sword nervously before looking up at Sam Nook, trying to find the words to say to the bot without messing anything up. He knew the robot didn’t like him, he knew Tommy didn’t trust him enough and that’s why the bot didn’t trust him either, but he needed to tell Sam Nook. He had to. 

He swallowed shakily, glancing back up at the taller bot, “Uh, h-hey big man. I didn’t come to mess around or anything-” 

“JACK MANIFOLD, I HAVE STRICT RULES REGARDING YOUR PRESENCE HERE. YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED WHEN TOMMY ISN’T AROUND.”

Jack frowned, “I know, I know!” He held out his hands, “But, I had to come to tell you something-”

“WHATEVER IT IS, I’M SURE IT CAN WAIT.” he gripped the hilt of the sword, “NOW I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE.” 

“Sam Nook, wait- H-hear me out-” He pleaded, taking a small step back just in case the bot attacked without further warning. 

The bot paused for a second, though Jack could tell that he was frustrated with Jack not leaving or following instructions. 

“I WILL ALLOW YOU ONE MINUTE, JACK MANIFOLD,” the bot sighed, “PROCEED.” 

“Thank you,” Jack muttered, lowering his hands in relief. He cleared his throat, fixing his tie as he glanced from the bot to behind him where Pandora’s Box loomed. 

Again he couldn’t find the words to say, how to inform him about what had happened in that damned prison. He was afraid, afraid of how Sam Nook would react, afraid that doing this was the wrong idea. 

“Okay,” he sighed, unable to look Sam Nook in the eyes, “there’s no easy way to put this but…” he drew a breath, finding the courage to look up at the bot, “Tommy’s dead.” 

With everyone he had told before, the first response was complete and utter silence from the individual. Sam Nook was no different from them, going silent at Jack and staring blankly at him as if trying to comprehend what Jack just said. 

Filling the silence, thunder rumbled overhead, the wind picking up speed as the bittersweet smell of rain started to fill the tense atmosphere. Jack was at least grateful for that noise, worried that had it not been there, it would been a lot harder to talk to Sam Nook. 

“TOMMY…” came a quiet chatter from the bot. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Jack whispered, taking a small step forward as the bot stared blankly in the distance, obviously processing it. “He was locked up with Dream, a-and I guess that they had a fight and Dream-” He stopped himself, lowering his head and inhaling sharply. He couldn’t bring himself to say it. 

“NO…NO, YOU’RE WRONG, JACK MANIFOLD.” Sam Nook chattered, sounding almost nervous, “I KNOW MY CREATOR, HE WOULDN’T HAVE ALLOWED SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN.” 

Jack frowned, expecting the bot to doubt his words, though it still hurt him to hear it. “I know you probably think that, but it happened. I don’t know what was up with Sam- I-” he sighed and shook his head, “-I didn’t talk to him about what happened, but what I heard from him...He was devastated, Sam Nook.” 

“NO,” the bot shook his head, “YOU’RE LYING.” His hand gripped the hilt of the sword, pulling it out of it’s sheath just slightly.

“I’m not lying!” Jack snapped, looking up at Sam Nook, “Tommy’s dead! Dream killing him in the prison! Sam told me himself!” 

Sam Nook went silent, letting go of his sword. 

Jack realized that he had shouted and his eyes widened a bit, his body tensing up. He wasn’t sure what Sam Nook would do next, but he knew his minute was up so he slowly backed away. 

One step, two steps…

“I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE.” 

The bot’s words were cold, the same that they had been every time Jack had gotten too close to Tommy when the hotel was in construction. It scared Jack because it reminded him that even though Sam Nook was a robot, he was one that could  _ feel _ . 

And right now, Jack knew he was feeling how they all felt. 

Lost, confused, scared, doubtful. 

Sam Nook, just like the rest of them, was in denial. 

“Look, I’m not lying,” Jack whispered, “I-I wouldn’t lie about something like this.” 

Lightning flashed, followed by loud, rolling thunder, causing both of them to look up at oncoming rain before looking back at each other. 

“TOMMYINNIT IS IN THE PRISON,” Sam Nook asserted, the rain bouncing off his metallic skin, making Jack worry about malfunctions or rusting, but he didn’t say anything. 

“TOMMYINNIT IS IN THE PRISON,” The bot repeated, not helping with Jack’s thoughts of malfunction, “HE WILL BE RELEASED SOON AND WE CAN OPEN THE HOTEL.” 

“Sam Nook, listen to me!” Jack shouted, pleading with the robot, “TOMMY IS DEAD! THE SOONER YOU ACCEPT IT, THE BETTER!” 

It was quiet for a second before the robot turned his back to Jack and headed back into the hotel, seeking shelter without a single word. 

Defeated, tired, angry, and somber, Jack muttered small curses, glaring at the entrance before shouting in frustration at the sky then the prison, before he too turned around, leaving the hotel property. 

In the hotel, Sam Nook went to the signs he’d previously left Tommy, regarding the possibilities of an upgrade. Underneath them laid the chests, filled with all the materials needed for the upgrade, provided by Tommy weeks ago when Sam Nook had been at Sam’s base for maintenance. 

Tommy couldn’t be dead, he determined, not when the hotel hadn’t opened yet. Not when he had given him instructions to invite people. Not when he hadn’t yet seen the joy or excitement on Tommy’s face at the opening and sight of the hotel. There was no way he could’ve been dead. 

To the robot, it just wasn’t fair, wasn’t logical. 

So, he carried on like normal. After all, he had upgrades to attend to that needed to be done before Tommy arrived back at the hotel. 

Had Tommy really been dead, Sam would’ve told him by now. Sam would have informed him himself, not Jack Manifold. Not the man who Tommy didn’t trust, not the man who Sam Nook caught trying to kill Tommy multiple times. If Tommy was really dead, then it wouldn’t have been Jack who told him. So he had no intentions of believing Jack’s claims to be true. 

Opening a chest, Sam Nook pulled out a stack of wood and got to work. 

…

Days went by…

Tommy still wasn’t released from the prison. 

Sam Nook hadn’t heard from his creator yet and whenever he asked anyone who passed by, they said he was still in the prison. 

He figured that it was okay, that Sam was busy doing his job, so he didn’t worry. Instead, he focused on getting the upgrades finished. Wanting them to be done before Tommy arrived. 

…

Weeks went by…

People didn’t pass by anymore. 

The only individuals Sam Nook ever saw were the owners of the rival hotel across the road. Since they were rivals, he had no intentions of interacting with them, even though he often heard crying and yelling from the hotel during the late nights when everyone should’ve been sleeping. 

Sam Nook would’ve gone to investigate, to hush the crying that sounded all too much like Tommy’s friend, Tubbo, but he was almost done with the upgrades and didn’t feel like stopping work to go into enemy territory. 

So he finished his upgrades and ignored the cries. 

Sam still hadn’t talked to him. 

Joints that used to run smoothly didn’t seem to do so well anymore. His metal creaked and he had moments where he would jolt suddenly or spark at the fingertips, but he didn’t think much of it. He didn’t think it was something to worry about and continued to stand outside the hotel, day and night, during sun and rain, waiting for Tommy to walk along the Prime Path, ready to open up the hotel. 

…

Months went by…

Sam still hadn’t gotten in touch with him. Tommy still hadn’t visited. 

With upgrades done and a body too weak to move sometimes from the spot where he waited, Sam Nook began to doubt. 

Doubt whether Tommy was alive. Doubt whether he’d been right in claiming that Tommy would come back. Doubt whether it was logical for him to grieve if this was the case. 

If Tommy really was dead, if Tommy had been killed in the prison, did it make sense for him to cry? 

For him, a robot built simply to keep the child entertained, did it make sense to cry? Did he even have the capabilities to do so? For weeks of standing out in the open had rusted his parts, had left him uncharged, left him rotting and dying as his circuits endured wind, rain, sun, and mobs. 

Throwing all logic out the window, Sam Nook grieved. The denial gave away and months of denying that his friend wasn’t dead and would come back hit the poor robot like a wave, washing over him in a flurry of emotions he’d never felt before. Never thought he’d feel before. Feelings he wasn’t programmed to feel but felt anyways because _ Tommy was dead _ . 

And though the elements had run down his circuits, had confined his rusted empty shell of a bot to the front of the hotel, hanging onto a childish wish that his friend would return, it was ultimately grief that powered him down once and for all. With one last breath, Sam Nook shut down. 

\---

_ “Sam Nook? Sam Nook! You’re here!”  _

_ “HELLO AGAIN TOMMYINNIT. IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.”  _

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Decided to speedrun this after today's streams because holy cow, I didn't see that coming and I now have so much angst going on in my head because of it. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the read!


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